Lu Lingyun finished dealing with Cui Da’s matter. She looked at the others, combining both kindness and sternness. “You all should take Cui Da as a warning. But don’t worry, as long as you do things clearly and honestly, I will never mistreat you.”
“Yes, Young Madam!” The stewards and managers all responded.
Lu Lingyun sat back in her chair. Only one ledger remained before her. She flipped through a couple of pages before her brow furrowed. The steward responsible for this ledger stepped forward cautiously without needing to be asked. “Young Madam, this is the revenue record of the East Street Inn.”
“Why is there such a large loss this month?”
“The Young Master wants us to renovate the inn.” The steward glanced at Lu Lingyun’s expression. “He wants to change it into… a buffet.”
“Buffet?”
秋姨娘, who had been listening all along, piped up, “Mistress, I know!”
“That little vixen, the day she entered the mansion, she nagged the Young Master to open a buffet for her. She even said it would definitely make money! This is all her doing!”
“What is a buffet?”
“It basically means all the food at the inn is free to eat. You just pay an entrance fee, and meat, vegetables… it doesn’t matter,” Qiū Líng said, pursing her lips. “I really don’t know what she’s thinking. Meat and vegetables don’t matter? Everyone will just eat meat, won’t they lose their shirts?”
Lu Lingyun raised an eyebrow after hearing this. She flipped through a few more pages of this inn’s previous revenue records. This inn was still a profitable asset of the Houfu, bringing in five to six hundred taels of silver every month. Its revenue had always been stable.
It had been renovated, but it still hadn’t opened for business.
“Young Madam, the inn is ready, it can open.” The steward softly asked.
Given the current state of the Houfu, he actually didn’t know who to report this to directly. Although it was the Young Master who directly approached him and asked him to renovate it, it was ultimately the Houfu’s property, and the Mistress must be informed. Otherwise, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.
Qiū Líng’s eyes gleamed as she looked at Lu Lingyun, hoping to see her directly suppress the matter and summon Xing Dai Rong to deal with it. But she saw Lu Lingyun close the ledger.
“I understand.”
She looked at the steward with approval. “What’s your name?”
“Your servant is called Kang Ping.”
“Good, Kang Ping. From now on, send all the accounts for this… buffet… to me. But if you have any questions about the opening or operation, you should ask the Young Master.”
“Yes!”
Lu Lingyun finished dealing with all the matters of the day. The stewards, managers, and maids all withdrew, and she finally had time to listen to Qiu姨娘’s grievances.
Being the head of the house, how many were truly at ease? A whole family, big and small matters, inside and outside the house, all had to be arranged by Lu Lingyun. Fortunately, the family was small. If there were any relatives or friends getting married or having funerals, or if they had to visit during holidays, it would keep Lu Lingyun busy even more.
“I’ve heard what happened to you, what do you want me to do?” Lu Lingyun asked Qiū Líng.
Qiū Líng’s eyes flashed. “Mistress, my affairs are trivial compared to yours. I’ll just bother you less.”
“You’re sensible.”
Qiū Líng looked at Lu Lingyun. “Mistress, you’re stuck at home all day, why don’t we go and see this buffet when it opens?”
Lu Lingyun reached out and tapped her head. “You’re quite the schemer.”
“Mistress, I’m truly on your side. That little vixen is bound to ruin our Houfu’s assets. How can we not go take a look?”
Lu Lingyun smiled faintly. “Alright, when it opens, we’ll go take a look.”
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